

XVz 



.^/ 



' [5637 



'^ '^BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 



Serial No. 677; General Series No. 487 



What One School Did and How It Did It 



GRACE WYMAN 




LEARNING BY DOING 

Even with liiiiiteil eiiuiiJiiient the teacher is able to aid the mothers in teach- 
ing their daughters to cook. 



IXCLnjJiNG A PAPER GIVEN AT THE FOURTH WISCONSIN COUNTRY LIFE 
. - CONFERENCE, C. J. GALPIN, SECRETARY. 



Published By 
THE COLLEGE OF AGRICLTURE 
MADISON 
1914 



Monognpb 



THE OPPORTUNITY OF THE RURAL SCHOOL 



From time to time there springs almost mngicnlly into prominence 
some obscure, isolated country school. Hainng done something exceed- 
ingly tvell, the school is discovered, and then analyzed, advertised and 
canonized. We ascertain hoio it accomplished what it has done, and 
with its methods construct a new dogma — a new system of teaching. 
We hear Dr. Montessori lecture upon her splendid work, buy the para- 
phernalia that she uses, and feverishly adopt her system, and then dis- 
coven- that in most cases something is lacking. Of course it is Dr.. Mon- 
tessori. It does not occur to many of us that teaching, in the best sense, 
is neither a profession nor a business in xvhich every certificate-holder, 
ivith a sta7idard modern equipment, can achieve a loorthy success. 

Teaching is an art for tvhich a feio men and a few women have a born 
passion. To this small class belong the great teachers. And greatness 
in this realm is often, if not commonly, independent of intellectual 
eminence on the part of the teacher. In fact, that teaching which has 
degenerated into a cold, inelastic science is heartless and useless. In 
relation to children, teaching is essefitially an expression of maternal 
love; it is the process whereby the teacher, moved to selfless generosi- 
ties by that r-uUng passion, extends an awakening, inspiring, contagious 
personality. In the ivarmth, sympathy, comprehension and gloio of it, 
the little buds of childhood open and bloom like dandelions in the sunny 
grass. Neither time nor place has much to do with this outcome; it is 
the result of a unique, great-hearted personal service given icith glad- 
ness and joy by a teacher who loves children as individualities, and so 
in motherly, personal loays stirs within them the latent power to see 
more clearly, to feel more ucutely and, with brain and muscle to func- 
tion more accurately and harmoniously. 

A country school building, with its grounds and interior furnishings, 
is a physical instrument of suggestive value with which a teacher, 
capable of using it as a vehicle of self-expression, can evoke the emo- 
tional and mental appreciation of children. It ought as a structure to 
please the eye; its surroundings ought to be a kind of continuation of 
the indoor atmosphere ; besides books and blackboards there ought to be 
pictures, flowers, music and mechanical objects like those employed in 
the Montessori system. If the infinite doors behind ichich lies the ivon- 
drous resource of a child's life are to be opened there must be in the 
home as well as in the school pleasant things to see, hear, feel and smell. 

The opportunity, then, of the rural school is physically to fit itself for 
a broad appeal to all the senses of normal children, so that it may con- 
fer its wealth of environmental heredity, and call to the teacher's chair 
a looman (no masculine m,an is qualified to teach other men's children) 
who is motherly wise, young in spirit, open-minded, and in love with 
her work. With the cooperation of parents, and sufficient time in ichich 
to find herself, she may prove to be a great teacher — or, what is equally 
important, a foundation-builder for the teacher "who, tvith the outer 
bearings and sensuous forms of truth", as Dr. John Bascom observes, 
"leaves a vital sense of the way in tohich things, events, spiritual 
processes floiv into one another, and together build up a universe of 
marvelous scope, inextinguishable activity, absolute unit}/, and growing 
intellectual light." 

De Witt C. Wing 



JCnteied as second class matter at the Postoffiee at Madison, Wisconsin, under the act 

of June fi, 1900. 



V 



What One School Did and How It Did It 

GRACE WYMAN 



WHAT THE VISITOR SEES* 

The school near Mendota Beach, Dane County, Wisconsin, ex- 
emplifies, in a practical way, what many have dreamed of but 
few even have dared hope to realize. While school men philoso- 
phized this typical rural community performed ; while the one 
talked the other worked ; Aviiile the former debated the latter put 
its ideas into effective action. The i-esults are new and wider 
uses for an old institution of limited scope l)ut of unlimited pos- 
sibilities. And it has all come about through the community 
becoming conscious of itself. It has had constructive leadership 
and this has led to conuuunity activity centered in the rural 
school. Just how it liappened is sufficiently outlined in the 
story which follows to need no explanation here. 

Scnor.ARS Do Many Things Well 

Tlie visitor at the Mendota Beach school is impressed with the 
large oppoi"tunit.y for individual self-expression. ]\Iany things 
are going on at the same time yet all in perfect order. Near the 
front of the room sits one pupil busy with the typewriter. Near 
by is a girl working at the sewing table. Another is stitching 
on the machine. At the rear of the room one of the older girls 
is conducting a primary reading class. One boy is writing a 
language lesson on the black board ; another is sweeping the 
hall. The teacher herself is hearing a recitation, and yet there 
is no confusion, no disorder; everj^body is at work — everybody 
attending to his or her own task. 



*By K. L. Hatch, Professor of Agricultural Ediication, The Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin. 



4 BULLETIN OP THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 

The hands on the clock move past a certain mark. The girl 
gets up from the typewriter, picks up her paper and pencil and 
replaces the cover. The one at the sewing machine carefully 
puts away her work ; the classes pass to their seats ; immediately 
otlior pupils take their places and the work goes on with the pre- 
cision and regularity of a grain binder tying its bands and throw- 
ing out its bundles. 

The usual program of studies is carried out and in addition 
each girl has time to sew, to cook and to run the typewriter, and 
every boy has his hour for typewriting and manual training. The 
addition of these vocational studies occasions no loss to the other 
branches. The typewriter is used for writing the language and 
spelling lessons; the manual training and domestic science les- 
sons are drawn from the home life of the children and based 
upon their own special interests. 

Parents Interested in School 

The home is asked to reinforce the instruction of the school by 
reporting to the teacher on the home work assigned to each 
individual pupil, for it is at home that the projects in manual 
training and domestic science are worked out. This interests 
the parents in the work of the school and enormously enhances 
its value. The visitors' register reveals the names of practically 
all of the mothers in the district as well as the names of their 
relatives and friends. 

Unusual Apparatus to be Seen in This School 

The unusual apparatus to be found in this school at once at- 
tracts the visitor's attention. In the rear of the room stands a 
combined kitchen table and cabinet well stocked with kitchen 
utensils. Nearby is a small kerosene stove with portable oven, 
a water cooler and a case for the individual drinking cups. It 
is appropriate to add that this case was made by the boys as 
a part of their manual training work. Then there is a screen to 
conceal any unfinished work, a reading table well stocked with 
current literature, contributed by the homes in the neighbor- 
hood, a ''wardrobe cupboard" in which are stored the materials 
used in sewing, a magic lantern used at evening meetings, a 
typewriter rented from a dealer in second hand machines and 
a piano furnished by a Madison music house. 



fi WHAT ONE SCHOOL DID AND HOW IT DID IT 5 

The basement is the boys' headquarters and is eciuipi)ed with 
two manual training benches and a goodly supply of carpenters' 
tools. 

The Program 

The overcrowded program is no bogy to this teacher. Each 
pupil has a program of his own which he follows independently 
of everyone else. That it takes an exceptional teacher to carry 
out such a complex program without confusion goes without say- 
ing, but this teacher has "turned the trick" and she insists that 
because she has the assistance of every pupil in the school it is 
easier to do than to follow out a formal program. The "coer- 
cion of the group" comes into play because the one who dis- 
turbs this program disturbs every individual pupil ir +be 
school. ''■''' 

Limitations 

While the success of the Mendota Beach school is its own com- 
mendation, there are limitations to the possibility of duplicating 
its work in any considerable number of schools. It is only fair 
to indicate some of these here: 

1. Few teachers possess the necessary initiative and informa- 
tion to undertake the work on so comprehensive a scale. Con- 
siderable maturity, experience and general information as well 
as versatility are necessary to its success. 

2. An accurate sense of proportion is essential to success. 
With a less capable teacher, there would be constant temptation 
to magnify the industrial work at the expense of the other in- 
struction. Tliis tendency must be carefully guarded against. 

3. System and order are the keynotes of this school's success. 
Not every teacher, even with a much smaller number of classes, 
is able to so arrange her work as to eliminate confusion. The 
large freedom given to the individual, under less Systematic or- 
ganization, might produce disastrous results. 

4. It is well known that children learn readily from each 
other, but it is also true that information thus obtained may or 
may not be desirable. Improper forms, incorrect pronuncia- 
tions and the like are as easily acquired as correct ones. The 
pupil-teacher system in vogue in this school is one of consider- 
able hazard. 



b BULLETIN OP THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 

5. The itinerant character of the teaching profession will act 
as a check on the rapid extension of this work. Until rural 
teachers remain more than a year in one school and two or three 
years in the profession, its extensive development can hardly be 
looked for. •mO'S 

What Has Been Done Can be Done Again 

Notwithstanding its limitations, the success of this school in 
meeting and solving the rural school problem is suggestive of 
the large opportunity of othei* rural schools under properly fa- 
vorable conditions. 

What has been done at Mendota Beach can be done in any 
other one-teacher district school of twenty pupils if the same 
methods are followed. This community received no stimulus 
from the outside and the same potential possibilities are to be 
found in every community. 

We do not need a new type of rural school nearly so much as 
we need a more complete use of the schools we already have. 
The Mendota Beach school has set a new standard in this respect 
which may be achieved by any other school fully conscious of 
its own possibilities. Let us hope that the Mendota Beach ex- 
periment marks the beginning of a new era in rural education, 
that its methods may be widely copied and that its achievements 
may be duplicated in thousands of other rural communities. 



THE STORY OF THE SCHOOL 

Around a little school house resting among sturdy oak trees 
on the top of a hill, facing a vista of Lake Mendota, centers the 
history of a unique bit of educational progress. 

A satisfied feeling that the school was good enough had be- 
come rooted in the hearts of many of the parents of the district. 
The school house was old, the walls dingy with no hallway for 
hanging of wraps or for placing of lunches; the heating sys- 
tem, — a stove in one corner at the front, occupying considerable 
space, gave the poorest possible satisfaction. The basement, 
rather a cellar, or merely a hole in the ground, — was dark and 
damp. 

A social-center spirit, however, had been and was alive in the 
eommunity and many interesting Sunday gatherings were held 
\\i the school house, where questions of social and community 



WHAT ONE SCHOOL DID AND HOW IT DID IT 7 

interest were discussed, with speakers of educational reputation 
and civic renown. 

Thus passed the first term of school. Music and draw- 
ing with water-color work had been added to the curriculum; 
but school was keeping in much the same spirit and way as in the 
preceding years. 




FIGURE 1. THE SCHOOL AS A NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER 

The children had the use of the huihlinir during siMiooI hours, but the resi- 
dents of the district — young and old alilie— held many interesting gatherings 
in the school house on week day evenings and helpful but uon-denomiuational 
meetings on Sunday afternoons. 



Parents Not Interested in School 

The children, as normal boys and girls always are, were will- 
ing to work, always ready to try somethiiiff new. But how could 
the parents be interested in the kind of work their children were 
doing? This was the question that had to be answered. 

After intimate talks with the children from each home, as to 
the little chores which they had to do, their desires for doing 
certain things which tliey could not do, their grievances, and the 
like, I came to the conclusion that we must set some certain day, 
several months in the future, and arrange for an exhil)ition, — • 
not only of work we were doing, but of work we were anxious to 
do, and could do if we had the equipment. 

It was a cold, bitter day in January. The stove smoked and 
sulked. The children were sitting on their feet. I looked down 



8 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 

the aisles of uncomfortable little bodies and twenty-six unhappy 
faces. Feeling sure of their confidence I laid aside my book. 
The geography recitation was concluded. The children were 
asked to come up around the stove, for I had a secret plan which 
I could no longer keep and I must tell them. 

Plan for a New School 

I then told them of my plan for an exhibition,— an entertain- 
ment in which we would boost for a new school house. In spite 
of a daily program of thirty-three classes, we began our task with 
a vim. Nearly every morning the school opened with some new 
plan for the eventful day. Enthusiasm grew; the children were 
told to talk it at home, everywhere, but not to tell of what in the 
way of exhibits the day's pleasure would consist. Each child 
was asked to prepare an original piece of work which should be 
grouped in the "Original Corner." This should be some special 
line of work which each one would like to do in school the com- 
ing year. 

The programs were printed and the covers hand-painted with 
apple-blossoms. They were indeed elaborate, and a copy was 
sent to each home in the district. We planned our program out 
of doors in nature's tabernacle of trees and sunshine, stretching 
a canvas from one end of the building to a tree to break the wind 
so all might hear. 

It was a hot spring day in May, and the blustering buzz of the 
first venturesome flies was lost in the chattering voices of the 
assembled neighborhood. One boy gave a parody on the Old 
Oaken Bucket, using to clever advantage the worn out old school 
house. One of the girls gave a prophecy of the school house ten 
years hence, keeping the question of the school house well before 
the gathering. 

Hold a District Exhibition 

The guests were ushered into the schoolroom where an ex- 
hibit of work actually done in the school was shown, all of which 
spoke for itself, that much time, thought, and patience had been 
spent in preparation. 

The "Original Corner" brought forth just the suggestion of 
work in the home that we had hoped to obtain. The children 
joyfully brought their surprises in boxes wrapped in papers 



WHAT ONE SCHOOL DTD AND TTOW IT DID IT 9 

which were placed on a table. One boy brought a hand-made 
Dutch wind-mill standing in a box of earth, — all his own idea 
from having seen a picture. Another boy had made with his 
jack-knife a rule, properly marked off in the scale of inches. The 



ler 



I 1 



School 
Room 



3 uj r 



=7 ^ 



1 



Ashes 



Coal 



COMMUniTY 

Room 



»CALE 



Dark 

Room 



I 



gfT 



Plam of Groumd Floor 



pLAh OF BASEMEni 



FIGURE 2. THE ARCHITECT'S PLANS FOR REMODELING THE SCHOOL 

HOUSE 

The Iniildinc: conipletoly rcmoclellecl at a cost of .$900, provided a well lighted 
and well ventilated seliool room and a commodious and otLerwise suitable 
community room. 

girls brought, almost entirely, domestic articles. There was a 
cake perfectly baked and frosted ; a loaf of bread the delicate 
color of which at once suggested hunger and a longing to pick it 
up and eat it. Others brought needle-work of various kinds, 
such as embroidery, belts and bags made of Indian beads. 

One of the progressive ladies of the neighborhood prevoiusly 
had appointed a committee to work up an evening meeting for 



10 BULLETIN OP THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 

the benefit more particularly of the men who were busy with 
their spring work in the day. All preparations went ahead for 
a rousing meeting, a short musical program of local talent be- 
ing given and a free, open discussion of the school house fol- 
lowing. An outline of many things needed for the school in the 
way of remodeling and equipment was l)rought before the meet- 
ing. A committee of three was appointed to draw up an esti- 
mate of the approximate cost of making the suggested altera- 
tions, and was asked to report at the annual school meeting in 
July. The evening ended with a feeling that it was necessary to 
keep in line with the outside world. And so closed the school 
year. 

I had planned, that if at the annual meeting it was voted to 
remodel the school house, I would remain and teach the school 
another year and I would work out a plan whereby I could 
teach it myself with no loss of school time and no extra expense 
to the district for an instructor in the newly added branches. 

All Out for School Meeting 

The annual meeting came; every voter in the district was 
reminded of its importance by the committee; the whole neigh- 
borhood was assembled and the old school house was full. 

A rather warm discussion on each suggestion of the com- 
mittee followed, but with the exception of one item, viz., a cis- 
tern, the carefully estimated plans were adopted, the vote to 
borrow the money was cast, and improvements to the extent of 
nine hundred dollars were authorized. 

Plain was my duty now to serve the neighborhood and school 
more efficiently, and immediately I began collecting all the in- 
formation possible from every means offered by books. Greatly 
inspired was I for my task when I read an article on Kansas 
schools, stating that Domestic Science would be installed in every 
rural school at the approximate cost of ten dollars per equip- 
ment, and that a text-book especially adapted for rural schools 
would soon be completed for their use. This settled in my mind 
that it was a possibility, and upon writing for information - 
relative to the plans for Kansas schools, I found them very 
courteous indeed, and glad to share their solved problem with 
us in our attempt. Several weeks elapsed and after writing a 
second letter asking for the promised information and receiving 
no answer, I felt the responsibility falling directly upon me. 



WHAT ONE SCHOOL DID AND HOW IT DID IT 11 



Visit Homes to get Better Acquainted 

Weighing the matter carefully in my mind, I set about to 
make my own text-book. How could I know just what the chil- 
dren ill the homes most needed; how could I know the mother's 
ambition for lier girls and boys?* Naturally there was but one 
answer to this seemingly difficult problem. I must visit each 
home in the district; I must see how the people live; I must 
share the problem of the overworked and perplexed mother in 
home duties, and awaken an interest in her to have her girls 
taught to cook, sweep, iron, sew and do these tasks just as well 
as their writing, reading, and arithmetic. Many were my ex- 
periences in these visits. In some homes it meant the making 
of a dress for the approaching school term; in other homes, in- 
asmuch as it was the fruit season, it meant helping in pickling, 
and preserving; — and such an opportunity it was, when a 
mother would turn over this job to me, of exhibiting special 
care in cleanliness, while having a heart to heart talk about her 
domestic troubles. In other homes they were found threshing, 
and I always "just happened to be wishing I knew them better, 
and I thought I'd drop in." 

Thus every home was visited and in every home my plan for 
the new line of work was disclosed and most cordially indorsed. 
So half the battle Avas won. 

Cooperation with the mothers had been gained, the text-book 
was completed, the approximate cost was estimated, the city of 
Madison had been searched for a suitable stove and oven, all 
plans complete, save one — the consent of the school-board to pur- 
chase my equipment. 

Upon laying my plan before the clerk of the school-beard, it 
was met sympathetically and approved; but the consent of the 
other two members had to be secured. We decided to take them 
to Madison to inspect the domestic science kitchens of the schools, 
and incidentally the manual training equipment — although I 
had little hope of any support to include this in our new work. 
To the city we went, and having previously arranged with some 
of the high school teachers to show us around, the afternoon was 
spent most pleasantly. 

Words cannot express my great joy in having my plans ac- 
cepted, even to the manual training for the boys. 



12 



BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OP WISCONSIN 



And thus school began in a new and modern school house, and 
there was introduced into the daily program the new and long 
anticipated domestic science and manual training. The next 
step was to arrange a schedule whereby both teacher and pupil 
could do the outlined work to the greatest advantage. 



Adding to a Crowded Program 

Like all rural schools of any size, the number of classes al- 
most equalled the number of children in attendance, and how 




FIGURE 3. THE SCHOOL KOO^I SEATED FOR A NEIGHBORHOOD 

MEETING 

Much has been done to make the seliool room convenieut and attractive. It is even 
homelilve in appearance. 

could I add still more to my curriculum! I finally decided to 
coach my oldest girl to teach the three youngest primary read- 
ing, number and language classes. This worked out with per- 
fect satisfaction. These classes recited in the rear of the room, 
occasionally being allowed to go to the basement to recite. By 
this method the primary grade made such rapid progress that 
one reading class was advanced to the next higher and two num- 
ber classes were promoted to the advanced primary, thereby do- 
ing away with three classes a day. This indeed was a wealth of 
time which I might utilize in carrying out my new work. 



WHAT ONE SCHOOL DID AND HOW IT DID IT 



13 




amix 






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a 


t.i.2 as 


Ho 


2S 


ta. 


^£0 


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14 



BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 



Equipment for the Cooking Classes 

111 buying equiiJment for our work in domestic science we were 
careful to secure only the utensils wliicli were really needed. 
In this way we were able to avoid unnecessary expense and to 
please the mothers of the girls, who, practical folk that they 
were, would not have excused any extravagance or needless pur- 
chases. Following is a list of our equipment : 

Dish pan $0.10 

Egg beater 05 

Bread baking pan 10 

Tray 10 

Stew kettle and cover 20 

Sugar jar 10 

Flour jar 10 

Fork 05 

Table knife 05 

Teaspoon 05 

Table spoon 05 

Measuring cup 10 

2 plates 10 

Platter 10 

Rolling pin 10 

Colander 10 

Sieve 05 

Scrub brush .05 

Kerosene stove, one burner and oven 3.50 

Total $5.15 




FIGURE .5. THE KITCHEN TABLE 

This piece of furniture was made so as to comhino every possible couvenienre 
witli attractive appearauee. 



The table was four feet long and two feet Avide and w^as 
equipped with a drawer in which all utensils are kept. It 
stands in one corner of the room little suggesting the many use- 
ful utensils it holds and the many purposes it senses. It is made 
of pine. At one end is a sliding bread board. 



WHAT ONE SCHOOL DID AND HOW IT DID IT 15 

Cooking day comes on Friday of each weclv and so eager is the 
school to carry out the daily program without interruption that 
on Friday the afternoon session begins at 12 :W, with no after- 
noon recess. x\ll but the cooking class are dismissed at three 
o'clock. This gives us ample time to prepare our food, wash the 
dishes and be dismissed by or soon after four o'clock. 

How THE School Helps Homes 

The girls are taught how to prepare the food and are given the 
recipes which they keep in note-books. They arc able then to go 
to their homes, make up the same dish for their own table. When 
each week's work is completed, the -mothers report to me on 
"Household Arts Eeport Card" provided for that purpose. 

The weekly expense for supplies with which to demonstrate 
is almost too slight to consider, as the girls are always anxious 
to bring from their home farm a little milk, vegetables, eggs, 
etc. They serve what is cooked at school to themselves, some- 
times inviting the manual training class to dine with them and 
a little social time follows. The dishes are washed and carefully 
put away, each having a certain place. 

On the fourth Friday of each month the domestic science 
girls invite all the mothers of the district to meet with us. This 
day is looked forward to with great anticipation as the girls 
manage the afternoon, ushering, caring for wraps, preparing 
and serving light refreshments to their mothers in a quiet, 
systematic and proper manner. This we practiced by ourselves 
many times before venturing. The girls range in age from nine 
to fourteen years. Our first mothers' meeting was well at- 
tended, and a full explanation of the work was given and a gen- 
eral social time was enjoyed. At our second meeting there was 
a demonstration of a fireless cooker and a lecture by a univer- 
sity graduate on "Domestic Value of Silk, Cotton, Wool, etc." 
The meeting was most instructive to mothers, and they are now 
testing silk, wool, and other fabrics before purchasing. Our 
third mothers' day preceded Thanksgiving, the lecture being 
given on the "Cooking of Meats" and a practical menu was pre- 
sented for a "Good Dinner Within the Reach of Every Pocket- 
book." The meeting was distinctly in keeping with Thanksgiv- 
ing, and a short program was given by the pupils. The fourth 
meeting was combined with the neighl)orhood in a Christmas 



16 BULLETIN OF THE UNR^ERSITY OF WISCONSIN 

evening service. There was a Christmas tree, music in keeping 
with the season, and a most pleasing lantern slide talk on ' ' See- 
ing Germany." So many were present that there was not seat- 
ing room. Again the domestic science girls sold candy, the pro- 
ceeds of which are to be applied on the lantern fund. Our 
fifth mothers' meeting was held during the latter part of Janu- 
ary, the subject being ''Proper Care of the Sick," and was di- 
vided into two sections. One lady demonstrated upon the 
''Care of the Sick" having a bed made in linen, one of the girls 
acting as patient; the other, "Delicacies for the Sick," demon- 
strating how to prepare the right kind of foods for a patient. 
This proved to be one of the most pleasing and beneficial meet- 
ings of the entire season. All formality was dropped and the 
speakers turned the meeting into a conference. About thirty 
ladies were present, some of whom having never before attended 
expressed their regrets for not having realized sooner the value 
of such meetings. 

Learning to Sew 

With the exception of darning stockings while the food was 
being baked, but little in the way of sewing was undertaken the 
first two months. However, each girl pledged herself to darn 
her own stockings for a month. The thought of not doing more 
in our sewing weighed upon my mind sufficiently to prompt me 
to seek the use of a sewing machine for the remainder of the 
year. Through a friend of mine one of the latest improved sew- 
ing machines, fully equipped, was procured free of charge for 
the school. 

Once more it was necessary to plan some way of utilizing time 
more economically so as to keep the sewing machine busy. Each 
girl has two stated hours per week, one hour every other day, in 
which she may sew. A sewing table is at the left of the machine 
where she can cut out a garment and with but a few steps seat 
herself at the machine and stitch. To the right of the machine 
is a cabinet in which an alloted space is marked off and identi- 
fied with the name of each girl, where she keeps her materials 
neatly and in order. A paper pattern is cut first, and then each 
girl cuts out her own garment, and is directed how to baste, 
stitch and sew. 

The sewing schedule, just as with the other classes, is followed 
as punctually as the ticking of the clock, and there is no confu- 



' WHAT ONE SCHOOL DID AND HOW IT DID IT 17 

sion whatever. As sewing by hand, basting, etc., is taught al- 
most entirely by demonstration, it is not infrequent that a little 
girl's puzzled faec; may be seen before the machine, then by a 
lift of my eyebrows she understands, rises, brings her work to 
me and Avithout a word, I show her just how to turn the- hem 
evenly on the corner and baste it down so that it can't slip and 
without interfering with the class in grammar or reading that 
may be reciting. 

Thus far each girl has made herself an apron, a sewing bag 
and a dusting cap. Each girl will be expected to make for her- 
self a gingham dress before the close of the school year. Occa- 
sionally each girl is asked to bring some sewing to school which 
her mother niost wislies done and is willing to trust us to do. 
This pleases the mother, and if not too often solicited will not dis- 
courage the girl, as it is usually hemming of dish towels and 
the like that is sent. 

The Manual Training Equipment 

Our work bench was made by carpenters and is equipped with 
two drawers, one of which contains the tools and the other sup- 
plies, such as nails, screws, etc. 

The tools kept Avithin drawer: . 

Two hammers 

Two saws (one small and one large) 

One square 

One screw driver 

Two planes (one small and one large) 

One brace with three bits 

Two chisels (one large and one small) 

One pound of six penny nails 

One scroll saw (given by one of the boys) 

One draw knife (given by one of the boys) 

The tools, not including the scroll saw and draw knife, cost 
approximately, $12.75, 

Tuesday afternoon of each week is set apart for the boys from 
three until four o'clock. All of the afternoon classes in which 
these boys are enrolled are heard before recess on this day. The 
middle and primary classes recite to the oldest girls. Thus no 
lessons are lost, and I go to the basement with the boys where 
we work and i)Ian out our designs. 



18 



BULLETIN OP THE UNIVERSITY OP WISCONSIN 



Has No Bad Boy Problem 

The two oldest boys, 13 and 14 years old, are the foremen, 
each of whom has two younger boys under his supervision. 
These foremen are expected to become so familiar with the work 
to be accomplished, that they can work, without direct super- 
vision from me, other periods of the week with one of their as- 
sisUuits. Thus each of the six boys has two stated days during 
the week on which he may go with his respective foreman and 
work with the tools. These periods as with the sewing are sched- 




FKU'UE (1. THE r.OYS WOKK I'.ENCH 

The l)asciiicnt is oiniipped as a carpenter shop and here tlie boys spend several 
hours each \Yeek learning to handle tools. 

uled, and each knows his privilege without any further arrange- 
ment with me. 

A design of each piece of work is placed on an inexpensive 
movable blackboard in the basement, and the boys are taught to 
follow these directions carefully. 

The boys are held responsible for the care of the tools, being 
taught to properly oil and replace them in their particular place 
in the drawer each time after using them. 

The "bad boy" problem is entirely taken care of, when such 
a boy can put his surplus energy into "making things." 

Thus far a fly-trap, flower box, drinking cup cabinet, fireless 
cooker, two book rests, checker board, bean bag board, and a see- 
saw for the playground have been made, and a number of odd 
jobs about the school house have been satisfactorily attended to 
by the boys. All of these, with the exception of the see-saw, 
have been made out of lumber left over in the building of the 
school house. Thus the monthly expense has been but a trifle. 
The next work is a bird-house and the boys are already planning 
it and it is proving of special interest to several who are fond 
of birds and animals. 



WHAT ONE SCHOOL DID AND HOW IT DID IT 19 



The One-Day-a-Week Kindergarten 

On Wednesday of each week all of the children under school 
age who can be are enrolled in a kindergarten which is conducted 
in the basement where it is warm, light and comfortable. Here 
we have a little red table with little red chairs, and plenty of 
room. 

This is conducted under my supervision, and in charge of one 
of the young lad,ies of our neighborhood, having for her. assist- 
ant one of my older girls. This girl, who ever she may be, pre- 
pares her day's work ahead of time and hands it to me for cor- 
rection. For, this work there is a charge of 25 cents per month 
to each mother, which meets the expense of supplies. 

This work was begun early in January with a roll of nine 
children. The following week there were eight, the youngest 
being under three years old. 

Again the mothers become interested in all the school work- 
ings, and, occasionally come after their childi'en a little early 
and visit the school, which is much to be sought for. 

What a Typewriter Meant 

In managing so many kinds of operations, a great deal of 
clerical work, such as notices of mothers' day meetings, bills for 
kindergarten, copies of supplementary work for classes, etc., is 
necessary. This must be taken care of by the teacher and, if 
successful, must be done systematically. 

Several of the boys had suggested that they would like to at- 
tempt ''running a typewriter." How I had longed to be able 
to give over some of this clerical work to some one, but had no 
means of doing so! Upon consulting the students I found sev- 
eral others wishing a "try," and in several weeks' time a type- 
writer was being used not only ])y the children but by myself, 
saving many minutes which I could put to better use. 

As with the sewing and manual training, the typewritiiig pe- 
riod for each pupil is scheduled ; if the pupil has not prepared 
his work so he can take his turn, he forfeits it and the machine 
stands idle. The schedule for all the work is followed carefully 
and each pupil knows his privilege and takes it. 

The expense for each pupil is seven cents a month, and some 
of the children are becoming quite proficient. Now, many of my 



20 • BULLETIN OP THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 




FIGURE 7. WHY BOYS AND GIRLS ARE GLAD TO GO TO SCHOOL 

The boys learn to use their hands. The little tots get kindergarten methods. Sewing 
and typewriting and school do not conflict and the girls enjoy both. 



WHAT ONE SCHOOL DID AND HOW IT DID IT 21 

letters, bills, notices, etc., are run off by my pupils while I do the 
more impor.ant work of the sehool. 

Pupils Take Turns at Work 

In addition to the liclp al)ove mentioned, I utilize every pcs- 
sible opportunity of getting the children to do voluntary tasks. 
Each week I assign to first one and then another the responsi- 
bility of keeping fresh water in the fountain ; the cleaning of the 
wash bowl; cleaning the black-boards and erasers, sweeping the 
cement steps and vestibule. 

Having completed the text in agriculture, practical tests are 
now being made of seed corn, the boys making the boxes in the 
carpenter shop, and making their own apparatus. In like man- 
ner will the milk from each farm be tested, and a special study 
of soil from each farm will be made. 

School Room Pleasing 

Were you a pupil seated in the rear of Mendota Beach school 
room, you would find the arrangement and furnishings most 
interesting and pleasing. To the front you would see double 
doors opening into a roomy hall way where there are shelves 
for the lunches, hooks for wraps, and on the cement floor pigeon- 
holes for rubbers. To your left you may go to the light, airy 
basement, which has a cement floor, and a furnace, in which we 
often roast potatoes for our lunches, with ash pit on one side and 
coal bin on the other. Here you will see the carpenter bench 
and equipment of tools. Opposite this your eyes will be at- 
tracted to a long home made red table with little red chairs for 
the kindergarten. At the right of the basement sk-ps is a cloak 
rack with hooks to accommodate twenty or more. 

Returning to the school room again you scat yourself in the 
rear, and a feeling that you are in a home will surely steal over 
you. The large eight day clock above the double doors greets 
you. Large double book-cases in the wall, made by the carpen- 
tci's, will lie found to contain a school library and a large travel- 
ing library. Res'^ing on top of these eases is the statue of Venus 
of ]\Iilo. On either side of the double doors are black-boards, 
usually bearing a staff of music, a drawing or two for water 
coloring and various supplementary work for daily use. 

To the right at the front stands the square piano, which is 
just low enough to allow seeing the blackboards nicely above it. 



22 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 

To the left you will see in the bright light which comes only 
from one side of the room, the east, a window box with plants 
and flowers; the typewriter Avith a pupil diligently writing out 
some of his exercises ; a little farther back perhaps a girl cutting 
out a dusting cap, and while using the sewing table for this 
purpose, still another girl finishing the stitching of her apron on 
the machine. In the rear of the room will be found in the do- 
mestic science cabinet, a wardrobe cupboard containing the 
partly finished garment of the other girls whose time to sew is 
some other day. To the right is the domestic science table, on 
top of which are the stove and oven, and neatly screened from 
the school room is the lavatory consisting of drinking cup cab- 
inet, wash bowl, drinking fountain and looking glass. 

Surely no school room could be more homelike ! 

Such is the story of the last year and a half of the Highlands 
Mendota Beach School. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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